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NCAA Women’s Golf Championships

EAST LANSING — Liz Nagel believes the biggest boost to her golf career came when she was redshirted.

That decision has helped the DeWitt native blossom into one of the Big Ten’s top golfers and groom her for a professional career.

And it’s also made Nagel part of arguably the Michigan State women’s golf team’s most decorated senior class.

Nagel and fellow seniors Allyssa Ferrell and Christine Meier have played big roles in an impressive four-year run for the Spartans that’s included three Big Ten titles and now a third straight appearance in the NCAA championships that begin today at the Tulsa (Okla.) Country Club.

Veteran MSU women’s golf coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll isn’t sure if the program has had a group of seniors that has accomplished as much collectively as this year’s trio.

“Every class that graduates at Michigan State we’re so proud of and we’ve accomplished a lot in a 15 year time period,” Slobodnik-Stoll said. “I think that having three players that are playing that all want to turn pro, obviously that’s a very special class. Each of them all have incredible accomplishments of what they’ve done and what they’ve meant to Michigan State.

“They’ve all contributed so much to our program.”

The senior trio each enters their final collegiate tournament ranked in the top 10 in school history in career scoring average. Nagel’s average of 75.74 ranks fourth, Ferrell is sixth with a mark of 76.03 and Meier is 10th at 76.69.

Each also has provided a different element while aiding the Spartans’ success. But Nagel believes determined is the best word to describe the seniors and points to their desire this year for another conference title.

“Coming into this year after we didn’t win (Big Ten) last year, we were really looking forward to having an opportunity to win another Big Ten championship,” Nagel said. “You see us walking around here with those three trophies and there’s a lot of pride there.”

Nagel, who has a team-best 74.52 scoring average this season, is what Slobodnik-Stoll describes as the ultimate Spartan. She’s has a deep passion for MSU and has overcome adversity through her journey with battling thyroid cancer and also losing her grandfather at the beginning of the season.

Meier is the more reserved one of the trio and has been a steady contributor to all the program has accomplished. Her biggest mark came at last year’s NCAA championships when she placed tied for sixth individually to lead MSU to its school-record ninth-place showing.

Ferrell has steadily improved every year she’s been in the program and earned All-Big Ten performer this season. She has mounted a strong finish to her career and hit the clutch putt last month that helped MSU earn a share of this year’s Big Ten title with Ohio State. Ferrell and Nagel are both ranked among Golfweek’s top 100 players nationally.

The trio is proud of the legacy they’ve left and hope to add to that over the next few days.

“I would love to do better (than last year), that would be great,” Meier said. “Nationals is a long week and it’s going to require a lot of patience and endurance. You’ve got to play it one shot at a time. That’s so cliche I know, but it’s so true, especially on weeks like that. Six rounds is a lot of golf.

“... Our overall goal is top eight, but I think if we finish in the top five that would be pretty cool.”